The United National Party (UNP) has criticised the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) report on the alleged USD 2.5 million (over Rs. 750 million) foreign debt fraud, claiming that the report reveals how the funds were stolen but fails to hold senior officials accountable.

In a statement issued on Sunday (26), the UNP alleged that the report attributed the incident to “system-wide failures” and “procedural gaps” while protecting high-ranking officials responsible for financial oversight.

The party claimed that while four mid-level officials had been suspended over alleged negligence, senior officials were only accused of “coordination issues”, creating a double standard.

The UNP also alleged that the theft was enabled by serious IT security failures, claiming that the External Resources Department had been using an outdated email system and that warnings from independent audits regarding inadequate cybersecurity measures, including the absence of multi-factor authentication, had not been acted upon.

The party further accused the government of failing to properly manage the transition of public debt management responsibilities from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO), claiming that adequate safeguards were not established during the transition period.

The UNP alleged that the government delayed informing the public about the incident, which occurred between November 2025 and January 2026, and used the investigation as a reason to withhold information.

The party said the loss of USD 2.5 million was not merely a technical failure but a result of a governance failure, accusing the Minister of Finance and the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance of failing to properly supervise the transition and protect public funds. (Newswire)

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